Mornings
by G.Mariee
Summary: It was while she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the kitchen counter next to the sink that Shikamaru actually took notice of what she was doing, but the scene resulted in such a shock to him, he had to ask her to make sure he wasn't seeing things with a mind clouded with sleep, "Are you... cooking?" (I don't own Naruto)


Hours after sunrise passed before Shikamaru managed to stumble out of bed, the option of crawling right back still circling around his mind. He kept his way down the hallway, though, since a constant rattling outside the door made it more than perfectly clear that Temari was already up and about somewhere around the house.

"It was about time you dragged your lazy ass out of bed." Was his greeting, just as he made his way into the kitchen, she not even bothering to look his way.

"Those are about the sweetest words you've ever said to me." He replied, leaning against the dinner table.

Temari scoffed, a sharp smirk edging her lips. It was while she leaned forward to rest her elbows on the kitchen counter next to the sink that Shikamaru actually took notice of what she was doing, but the scene resulted in such a shock to him, he had to ask her to make sure he wasn't seeing things with a mind clouded with sleep, "What are you doing?"

"What?"

"Are you… cooking?" Shikamaru asked, pushing himself away from the table to circle behind her, unable to contain the bewilderment in his voice.

"Oh." She straightened herself to better look down at the toaster, expressing as though the thought hadn't even occurred to her, "Yeah. You could call it a milestone. I've been up for a few hours and couldn't exactly go for takeout since it's raining like God's trying to put out the hellfire so I figured I might as well."

For a while, Shikamaru just stared at her. Then, he slowly shook his head, "I must still be half asleep."

Temari clicked her tongue and gave him a light scowl, "Don't be a smartass, Nara. Just because I don't cook, doesn't mean I'm not capable."

Shikamaru nodded and made his way towards the fridge, "And what exactly have you cooked so far?" He asked, rummaging through it briefly before deciding against food and settling for a glass of water.

"Toast." She murmured, eyes fixed on the toaster, with light annoyance, "Or at least it will be once this thing feels nice and dandy enough to spit it out."

"Mm." He nodded again while swallowing- the sight of the woman's mildly wild, yet tired morning apparel causing his lips to curve into a light smirk.

Outside, stores and restaurants were crowded with villagers eager to spare themselves from the harsh rain. Among them was no other than Suna's very own Kankuro Sabaku, who muttered curses of the weather to himself when his eye caught sight of a familiar head of blonde hair sitting at a booth next to a pinkette and pale young man he didn't clearly remember.

Apparently, the man under question recognized him, though, since after catching his gaze he quietly spoke to the tanned blonde, who whipped around and greeted the sunan with another one of his infamous grins, "Hey Kankuro!" He all but screamed, "What brings you here?"

"Probably the same thing that did everyone else." Kankuro deadpanned bitterly.

"Well, why don't you join us, then?" The pinkette, Sakura, turned to give him a polite smile, which Kankuro unfortunately did not return. He shrugged, though, once she added, "It looks like this rain calls to last a while."

Halfway across the establishment, pushing and shoving towards the booth, a hopeless question popped in his mind, and the man found no reason to not voice it, "Does my sister happen to be under your table? I've been through three establishments already and haven't seen any of her."

Instantly, the tables aura radiated clear amusement as Naruto raised a brow, wide grin unchanging.

At that, Kankuro grimaced, "Ugh." He dropped himself next to the anonymous pale young man and slouched, "I should've known better than to ask a brat like you."

Naruto erupted in loud laughter which would've been contagious, had Kankuro not been in such a sour mood already. He shook his head, "I don't even want to know what she's up to right now."

"Do you need help with that?" Shikamaru asked, growing tired of the ridiculously extensive waiting the toaster was putting them through.

"It's toast, Nara, I think I can manage." Temari snapped.

Shikamaru, unfazed, carefully studied the utility and almost immediately noted the rather obvious reason for the toaster's delay. He did his best to swallow the laughter rattling in his chest, but did nothing to cover the smirk returning to his lips as he addressed Temari, who seemed bored enough to fall asleep on the countertop, "Exactly how long have you been waiting for that?"

"I don't even know anymore." She sighed, exasperated, while pushing herself away from the counter.

"I have a theory." Shikamaru murmured mostly to himself as he walked towards where she'd previously stood and pulled the toaster's cord until its other end was lifted to mutual eyesight, "For quicker results, you might want to plug in the toaster first."

For what felt like a long while, Temari just stared at the electricity plug, and then exhaled a hiss.

"That's enough cooking for today." She muttered, turning on her heel and out the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Seth called after her retreating form.

"Unless you want to give the kitchen a shot, we're ordering takeout." She replied.

Shikamaru didn't bother mentioning the rain, given the fact that Temari had probably made her decision despite it. He groaned, though, once the thought that he'd probably be dragged along under it crossed his mind. And he didn't know whether to laugh or resent himself for ever, out of all the other options, choosing such a troublesome woman.

* * *

**A/N: **Well this was a quickie I made a long while ago, but completely forgot of since it was scribbled on a random notebook. I'll admit it's rather short and predictable and rushed but I just had it in my head and so why not?

This is actually meant to be set a few months after their marriage, but you can take it as you may (: And wow, I don't have much to say about it. I really hope I did the characters justice, since for some reason everything I write feels OOC .-. Oh, but I really do think Kankuro would be kind of a dramatic one when it came to his sister's relationship, whether it be when he can't find her, or when he feels neglected, or whatever reason, just dramatic Kankuro, whom I love for some reason.

And so yeah, there it is~ Feel free to review, let me know what you think. I love critiques, good or bad, they help me improve :D

Also, I love taking requests~ So if you've got an idea stuck in your head feel free to tell me about it, cause I'm open for it. It's fun.

Well, that'll be all. Thanks for reading lovelies~


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